Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Well, our big day is rapidly approaching (7 more weeks!) and the to-do list is finally getting shorter. We've moved from the stress mode to ahhhhh excitement mode and I'm relieved that we've reached that point. The biggest hurdle that was looming over my head was designing our invitations. Any designer will tell you that creating something for yourself is a torturous process, so it was tough for me to nail down a final idea and run with it. However, I had a few requirements for the invites that narrowed it down: copper foil, nautical elements, and whimsical styling—each reflecting the look and feel of our wedding day.

Lettering all of the pieces myself took a lot of time, but it was so satisfying to see the entire suite come together at the end. It also ensured that everything looked cohesive because it came from the same hand. I started by assembling a palette of colors and paper stocks, and sketched out a few options until the combination felt right. I fell in love with this navy silk ribbon, which balanced out the femininity of the shell peach envelopes.

I was super impressed with the quality of the foil stamping from Stationery HQ—even the finest lines and details in the design produced perfectly, on a textured paper stock no less.

I used copper metallic ink for the outer envelope calligraphy, with a matching color ink pad for the custom stamps. I highly recommend stamps as a solution in areas where printing can become a nuisance (like on envelope flaps). We used a custom anchor seal with our return address for the back of our outer envelopes, and another stamp for our RSVP envelopes.

The only downside of stamping is making a few mistakes – lining up the stamp perfectly, applying the right amount of pressure...you're bound to mess some up, so order a few extra envelopes!

Everything came out exactly as I pictured and I'm definitely relieved that they're signed, sealed, and delivered. This was a huge task on my to-do list and we've been able to move on to the other day-of details, which are slightly less daunting. Now it's been fun to get our RSVPs back in the mail – it's like getting a little note from a friend every day!